Fintech leader OPay has narrowed the field to 48 teams for the latest phase of its National Innovation Challenge. This selection follows an impressive turnout of over 11,000 undergraduate participants from across the nation.
This competition acts as a primary pillar of the OPay Scholars Programme, which also features a 10-year, ₦1.2 billion scholarship fund and the OPay Futures initiative. The project underscores OPay’s long-term dedication to fostering digital skills and youth development.
Selected groups emerged from a pool of 2,200 applications. The final 48 teams consist of 24 squads from partner institutions and 24 from non-partner schools. These participants will now enter a six-week virtual mentorship phase facilitated by experts from OPay, Google, and the federal 3MTT initiative. Following this, the field will be reduced to 10 finalists.
Participants who excel during the webinar series—achieving a score of 70% or higher—will earn internship placements, bridging the gap between academic theory and the workforce. CSR Manager Itoro Udo highlighted the program’s goal to empower young Nigerians, stating that the initiative aims to provide the necessary tools and exposure to drive social change.
The successful teams include a diverse range of student groups from various tertiary institutions, such as Thriftly from ABU, Sauti Nexus from AEFUNAI, and DrRobot from FUTA, among many others representing schools nationwide.